MIDLAND, Texas — The oil and gas community is making sure they're ready for the latest bout of cold weather.
"The industry, along with several different state agencies, have worked hard to make sure that the electrical generation system across the state, which is managed by ERCOT and PUC, is ready for these type of strong weather events," said Stephen Robertson, Executive Vice President of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. "That means inspections in the field, weatherization of equipment, to make sure natural gas is flowing and can get to generation facilities where it needs to go to get turned into electricity to get to peoples homes to keep them warm during these very, very cold days."
During times when the temperature dips, there is constant communication to make sure nothing seems off.
"While there's always a possibility that something unforeseen can happen, if we continue to monitor it and make sure we're communicating on all those different levels, we hope to minimize, if not eliminate, any disruptions in power distribution," said Robertson.
If there are any power outages, there are new regulations that will keep necessary machines on.
"One of the things the railroad commission has made sure to do is to identify which pieces of equipment out in the field are critical, so those don't get electricity cut off to them if there needs to be rolling brown outs or black outs," said Robertson. "That way pumps can continue to operate and produce the natural gas that needs to then be fed into generation facilities to produce more electricity for the state."